Trinity 24, 2024

 

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The Hymn #  577                 God Bless Our Native Land                      

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Oh, come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

For He is our God: and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Psalm. Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of Thy faithful people that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of Thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual   

Gradual

Thou hast delivered my soul from death: mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

V. I love the Lord: because He hath heard my voice and my supplication. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. With Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light. Hallelujah!

    

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #236                Creator Spirit By Whose Aid         

              

Two Examples of Faith and Power

The Communion Hymn #  307            Draw Nigh and Take the Body of the Lord   

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #240      Father Most Holy

Prayers and Announcements

• Tomorrow Is Veterans Day.
• Anita Engleman's birthday is Tuesday.
• One year ago. Our Biblical doctrine series has a name - Reformation Seminary.
• Medical care - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris; Sarah Buck;  Dr. Lito Cruz and his grandson. 
• Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Matthew 9 begins with a number of episodes and sayings, then  a father fearing he had lost his daughter but asking Jesus to bless the girl and give her life. The father has great faith in Jesus, asking that He lay His healing hand on the girl so that she might live.

19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 

They were together but all of them responded to the request, Jesus rising up and the disciples following. This beginning of a miracle is framed by another request for healing, the woman with an extended, painful, and difficult disorder. We can see from the Gospel of Mark that Jesus performed miracles, and they were so many that they were grouped together. 

A delightful German woman in Ontario had this to say to people who never went to church. "So you are better than Jesus?" The targets would say, "Oh no. I am not saying I am better than Jesus." She always responded, "You must be better than Jesus because he prayed in the synagogue." Jesus' prayers are emphasized in all four Gospels. Miracles are offensive among the modernists, who want the blessings of the Gospel but not faith of Jesus. Others take these celestial matters for granted, as if everything else was important but not what belongs to God Himself.

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

This is the well known miracle concerning the woman who was suffering from a long-lasting disorder - 12 years. She had so much faith in Jesus - faith comes from hearing the Gospel - Romans 10 - that she was confident of His healing power. On the other hand, Jesus knew the thoughts and understanding of all those around Him. She did not need to touch His robe, but it was good for the crowd to realize what was happening. That spread the Gospel but also incited the works-righteous who found many ways to be offended.

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Luke 8:43ff has a lot more details.

Mark 5:25ff has details similar to Luke.

This collection of three stories annoys the skeptics because they want everything smooth and rational. Their little-faith content concerns the Son of God having this power, so the writers and editors want to make it smooth and not offensive in any way. That leads to people changing the facts and also exaggerating what they want to enlarge. As Nils A. Dahl said, "What do we know for certain? The text! That is what we know."

The text is the very Word of God, and we should honor that and be patient with the difficulties of life. When we are young, we are impatient about everything. Decades later, we marvel at how fast things went and even how well the worst situations turned out.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 

This is especially dramatic. Everyone is already in mourning and certain of the facts. The young lady has passed away and they are engaged in carrying out their duties. The noisy mourners are completely wrong, relying on the problem rather than the divine solution. We can glean quite a lot from a few Biblical miracles:

1. They may not happen immediately.
2. They can take a very long time to reveal themselves.
3. They can take place anywhere .
4. They can be expressed in many ways.

24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 

The truth of Jesus the Messiah is met by laughter and scorn. That is how the Gospel moves forward. Those who harden themselves against the Savior may see their foolishness at times and repent. Here the mourners make matters worse by being coarse and obnoxious. 

Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Luke 8:51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Jesus response was not to bring fire and brimstone down on the scornful noise-makers. He shocked them the greatest possible way, by taking the young girl's hand so they could feel the sting of their foolishness, the joy of her parents.

America is going through a chastening. People laughed with scorn over a real estate tycoon running for president. His faults were piled up to heaven, but he won the first election. The second election had 15 million (or more) extra votes - higher than either 2016 or 2024. People laughed that he could get past all the obstacles on his way to the 2024 election, including a bullet wound and another attempt.

If we continue on this course of promoting trafficking, abortion, toxic drugs, and every style of life except the traditional family, we will experience fire come down from heaven, as it did before, with Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 13 - and Romans 1:28-32.